Huckleberry Finn One Shot
by Tabby Steen
Summary: After the Engine Joe incident, St. Petersburg returned back to everyday living. Five years after the incident, Tom and Becky are still together, yet somehow, their best friends had never met. Huck/OC Will be a series of one shots showing how Becky's best friend and Huck meet and grow together
1. Chapter 1

It was another cloud-free day in St. Petersburg. I know I should have been on my way to school, but I couldn't help myself but get distracted by the blue Mississippi River. It was especially peaceful today.

"Hoy, there. Shouldn't you be on your way to school?"

I flipped my dark hair over my shoulder to eye the boy judging me. "I could say the same to you, Tom."

"Well, I heard Becky was sick, so I decided to take her something maybe that'll cheer 'er up." He motioned to a basket in his hand.

"That's awfully thoughtful. She's actually why I was headed from this direction. I needed to check on her before school, but now I am dreading being stuck in that schoolhouse all day."

"I know I'm not very good for advice, but you should come with me. If we both get in trouble, then the punishment would be halved between the two of us."

I laughed. "I'm not exactly sure that's how it works, but it's good enough logic for me." Picking up my skirt, I made my way back to the paved road and followed Tom to Becky's house.

We kept our heads down, ignoring any stairs from folk who might stick their heads in our business. It's not like we were children anymore. Four years ago when Becky first moved to town, yes, they did some stupid things. But since then, as I became best friends with Becky, we learned to prioritize our responsibilities. All of us learned when we had to learn, but that didn't mean we didn't spend countless hours wasting time down by the river.

As we walked up the stairs to Becky's house, making sure her parents weren't around to scold us for skipping class, a voice whistled to us from a tree.

We looked to each other, then glanced around the yard to see where the noise had come from.

A very handsome boy walked out from behind the tree. He was beautiful. His blond hair barely hung over his sharp blue eyes. His jaw was straight and chiseled, and he had to have been at least a few inches taller than my average size.

"Huck, what are you doing here?"

A breath caught in my throat. It couldn't be. Huckleberry Finn? I could've slapped myself silly for thinking those thoughts. I just had never imagined the town drunk's son being so attractive.

"I found some of those flowers Becky said she liked. Thought you might want to give those to her too. Let her know I hope she gets well." Huck walked up to Tom, plopping the flowers in his basket for Becky.

Huck's eyes flashed over to me, noticing me for the first time. Everything inside of me felt intoxicated, as if I was the town drunk. It was a strange feeling I never experienced before. The warm feeling spread throughout my body. I hadn't even noticed that Tom left us outside in Becky's yard together.

Quickly, I diverted my eyes, unaware of how long I'd been staring.

"Aren't you going to tell me your name?" He asked, stepping towards me.

"You could tell me yours first." I crossed my arms in front of my chest. How dare he just assume I should introduce myself first.

Huck's blue eyes lit up, smiling as if I had told a joke. "I did. You must not have heard me, Miss. I'm Huck. Huckleberry Finn." He reached his hand out for me to shake it. It was dirty, calloused, but strong.

"I'm Becky's best friend." I said, shaking his hand. How do homeless boys wash their hands?

"Do you have a name?"

"Emma. Emma Rose."

"That's a very sophisticated name for a very sophisticated lady."

I chuckled at his comment. There had to have been at least two other Emma's in just mine and Tom's grade. His intentions were flattering though.

"It's not nearly as unique as Huck."

"I always hated my name." Huck said, kicking a rock off to the side absentmindedly. "But out of your mouth, it sounds like charming."

"I don't believe anyone should ever despise their name. That is the soul of a person."

"Unfortunately, my soul isn't so light and cheery."

And with that, I became enthralled with Huckleberry Finn. I wanted to know why. How has he lived up to this point. I heard the rumors, but with the person himself standing in front of me, I felt a desire to learn everything about him. Nothing left me as astonished as this interaction had. It was a peak I never wanted to come down from.

But our interaction ended all too quickly when Tom came strolling back out of Becky's house.

"She said she appreciates your gift, Huck, and she seems to be doing much better. I am glad I came to check on her."

Huck tore his eyes from mine first. I was too enamored to try not to watch his every move.

"That's good to hear. I shouldn't hold you up from wherever you have to be though. Find me later, Tom?" Huck said, pulling his friend into a quick hug before turning to me and planting a quick kiss on my cheek.

As soon as Huck was out of sight, my hand rose to my cheek, making sure it hadn't caught fire.

"So, you two got on well?"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: If you made it this far, that means you made it past Chapter One! Thank you so much for giving this a try. These short stories are pretty much all practice for me, so if you enjoy this, hopefully they'll get better from here on out!

This short one shot continues Huck and Emma's story. It's dedicated to dreamkeaper who encouraged me to keep going with their relationship. Let me know what you want to see and what you look or don't like!

* * *

About an hour ago, I was about to pass out. Now, it evolved into a full-on panic attack. But nothing was new. This usually happened when my parents invited twenty some visitors into our house for a fancy dinner.

My parents would be upset by my sudden disappearance. They never understood why my heart started racing in the smoke-filled parlor. Or why I couldn't catch my breath at the dinner table. Maybe coming from a less esteemed family would have fit me better. Then I wouldn't be obligated to suppress all this anxiety for the sake of entertaining family friends. They were all strangers. They would drop all social ties if my family went bankrupt within the next week. Why should I be trying to make them happy?

And that's how I ended up outside with my book. I breathed in the fresh air as if I had been underwater just a second short of drowning.

"That's some sigh."

I shifted my gaze from the book to the boy standing at the bottom of my front steps. My father would kill Huckleberry Finn if he saw him on his property, much less talking to me. But based on his last appearance, he was preoccupied in the smoking room with several other distinguished gentleman.

"It's some party in there." I scooted over on the bench, giving Huck the opportunity to take a seat. He hesitated at first, glancing not so subtly through the windows. He probably was used to being shooed off like a rat by most the men in my house right now.

"Whatcha reading?"

I lifted the book to show him the title.

Huck cringed. "Is now a bad time to bring up the fact that I never learned to read? At least not those kind of words.."

"Well, this is one of the best books to learn to read from. It's a childrens' book, but I find it entertaining."

"I never saw you as a childrens' book reader."

I chuckled. "I'm sure there are many things you saw me as that are not true. But besides the point, it's Through the Looking Glass. It's about this girl that stumbles upon an entire magical world through a mirror. And these are the times I wish I were that girl."

He smiled at my comment. His eyes were so expressive. It made all his emotions easy to read, emotions that most people tried to hide away. Probably because they were shameful. Huck's always seemed pure, never guarded.

"I gave up on the idea of running away a long time ago." He lowered his voice, more in sadness than in caution that someone might overhear.

"Where would you run away to?" I pulled my legs up onto the bench to wrap my arms around them. My mother would yell at me for being so at ease in a guest's presence, but what's the worse Huck could think? He never judged me for anything prior.

"I heard of the first National park opening. Yellowstone, I think it's called. I've imagined visiting it."

"Yellowstone National Park. It's near Wyoming. I've heard women can vote there."

"Maybe one day we can go there. I can visit the park, and you can vote."

We laughed together. "Voting sounds too mature. I'll stick to my children's books."

"And I'll stick to life on the river."

"It doesn't sound so bad. Nothing holding you back from doing whatever you want."

Huck stood from the bench. "Yeah, except there's this one girl I've been trying to impress, but she knows I can't even read, so much luck for that."

The heat rose in my cheeks. I swiped at a piece of hair that had fallen into my eyes, hoping to distract from the blush. "Well, maybe I could help you with that, to impress this girl, ya know."

"You know where to find me."

I watched as he faded into the darkness, headed back to where he came from. The riverbend. Where I planned on finding him, not patient enough to wait too long. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe the day after. No longer though. My curiosity couldn't handle the mystery of Huck for much longer than that.


End file.
